Birds of Quail Valley and Fort Bend

Green Heron

The Green Heron is a summer visitor to Fort Bend and lives year round nearer the coast on inland waterways, marshes, ponds and streams. The photo above depicts the beautiful plumage, but you’re more likely to see from a distance a hunkered, stocky bird standing quite still on water’s edge that appears dark brown or gray with slender yellow legs as the picture below shows.

Fish are their favorite food, which they stalk then stab with their large bill. A “tool-using” bird, they lure fish by dropping food such as bread crumbs on the water. This bird appears to have a lure in its mounth ready to drop in the water.

One of the smaller herons (around 16 inches—about the size of an American Crow), they are smaller than Yellow-Crowned Night Herons which are quite numerous in Quail Valley especially on Oyster Creek and marshy ponds on the golf courses.

Water birds are some of the very interesting birds you're likely to see near our creeks, marshes, ponds and water features, particularly golf courses without bulkheads that allow roughs such as the Quail Valley El Dorado and La Quinta courses.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.

See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban Fort Bend,Texas backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.

Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan. Click photos to enlarge them.

 

American White Pelican

 

White Pelicans are commonly seen on lakes, lagoons, and in the air. Many winter in Fort Bend--that and migratory fly overs are the primary time we get to enjoy them in Fort Bend County, Texas.

Before the 1970’s White Pelicans’ breeding colonies were mostly north of 40° N Latitude. They now have large and small breeding colonies on the Texas Gulf Coast. Beginning in the Laguna Madre near Brownsville on the border with Mexico, breeding colonies have spread along the entire Texas Gulf Coast.

Graceful by air or water, this big bird wattles on land with its large body, webbed feet.

Unlike its Brown Pelican cousin which dives for food, the White Pelican lands and feeds by dipping its head in the water to scoop up fish. In fact, White Pelicans may circle around a school of fish to feed. Sounds like a Pelican "Rodeo" or circled wagons.  Literally the White Pelican casts it pouch like commercial fisherman cast nets. However, most of the fish these birds enjoy are not commercially sought after fish on the Gulf Coast.

Since the White Pelican winters here, can migrate fall and spring . . . or has breeding colonies that are year round, this is a great bird to enjoy in a variety of habitats and ways all along the Texas Coast.

A migratory "fly-over" the White Pelican enjoys soaring on low, mid and high thermals. A flock is quite a sight to see in the air or landing. This flock is flying on a lower thermal likely looking for new fishing spots so they are not in the classic V they fly during migration.

Why do migratory birds such as geese, ibis, ducks and pelicans fly in a V? A report in the journal Nature, and a report syndicated by the New York Times and picked up by the January 16, 2014, Houston Chronicle, reports how with high tech equipment followed a flock of 14 northern bald ibis migrating from Austria to Tuscany. Long story short . . . everyone saves energy being in the in the V, but the leader who change positions periodically. Each position in the V requires changing wing phasing. The fancy way to say this is the V provides aerodynamic advantage via an updraft of air in the wake of the flapping wings.

Larry Leggett of Quail Valley submitted the following picture, which I have cropped a couple of times to show how American White Pelicans fish in groups. Two of the birds are showing how the birds dip the heads to the side to fish unlike the saltwater Brown Pelicans that dive for food.

Below is detail of one group of fishing White Pelican's. Please note how one pelican is dipping its head to the side like a fisherman casting his net. Thanks Larry for the photo! Photos on Kiamesha Weir near Quail Valley Golf Course La Quinta #5.

The two photos above courtesy of Larry Leggett

Talk on Nature's Highway . . . finding and attracting birds.
Monday, January 27, 2014, 6:30 pm, Brightwater Garden Club.
Brightwater Clubhouse. Free to public. Contact Diane Giltner 281 499-0695.
Living in Fort Bend County with its diverse habitat for birds provides novices and dedicated birders many opportunities to enjoy birds. Janice Scanlan, who writes this blog thanks to Margaret Sloan's wonderful pictures and knowledge, will speak at Brightwater Garden Club on practical ways to find and attract birds  . . . and the role your garden can play . . . illustrating with pictures.

Learn about Project FeederWatch which occurs from November to April . . . anyone can help keep count of the birds on feeders and it makes for some great family fun! Learn more.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.

See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban Fort Bend,Texas backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.

Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan. Click photos to enlarge them.

Wood Stork

Wood Storks (seen in the foreground with the Snowy Egret in the rear) are one of two Storks that visit North America. We are fortunate in Fort Bend to see these birds in late summer and fall. Mature birds have browner and "woodier looking" bills with no feathers on their heads and necks, while immature and juveniles have more golden bills and feathered heads. They stand 40" tall.

Wood Storks are loosely called "migrants" along the Gulf Coast, but it might be more correct to say they are roaming for food along waterways and inland marshes and swamps after breeding along the coasts of Mexico and peninsula of Florida. It is common to see them on Oyster Creek, at Brazos Bend State Park and other waterways in Fort Bend and coastal counties. Originally from South America, the populate the northern half of that Continent.

This mature Wood Stork's brown bill, lack of feathers on the head and neck, contrasts with the juvenile in the picture above with its feathered neck and head as well as lighter bill.

Our  photographer Margaret Sloan heard of a flock flying over Sienna and then captured this photo of a juvenile that had stopped at the pond near the spillway on #17 El Dorado on the Quail Valley Golf Course.

Taking flight, Wood Storks are ever looking for a new source of food. When the "mud bug" or crawfish farmers lower their ponds in Jefferson County Texas, they are quite popular with the Wood Storks.

Also known as Wood Ibis, they are most often found in multi-species flocks feeding in marshes. See how many species you can identify in this photo. Click to enlarge the photo.

Editor and writer of this blog, Janice Scanlan frequently sees Wood Storks on the Oyster Creek Trail between Mosley and Lost Creek Parks as well as on the Quail Valley Golf course near ponds. Some have been spotted on Oak Leaf Court in Quail Valley near a home that has a large free form salt water pool with a natural stone bottom. A heavily wooded area, it is just north of Oyster Creek--one of nature's highways. While the other stork seen in North America, the Jabiru, might be seen in Fort Bend, it would be a rare event. The Wood Stork is dependably seen late summer and fall.

How many birds did you identify? I see Roseate Spoonbill, Immature White Ibis (hint they are more brown when they are young), Great Egret, Snowy Egret. Do you see more????

Get prepared for hummingbirds! Don't forget hummingbirds will arrive late July. Get your feeders ready. House Finches have been using one of my platform hummingbird feeders all summer for water so don't be surprised if in our dry weather, you have other visitors. Get a recipe for your hummingbird feeder.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.

See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.

Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan. Click photos to enlarge them.